Legge Sarah, Rumpff Libby, Garnett Stephen T, Woinarski John C Z
Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia.
Fenner School of Society and the Environment, The Australian National University, Acton, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Science. 2023 Aug 11;381(6658):622-631. doi: 10.1126/science.adg7870. Epub 2023 Aug 10.
Australia's biota is species rich, with high rates of endemism. This natural legacy has rapidly diminished since European colonization. The impacts of invasive species, habitat loss, altered fire regimes, and changed water flows are now compounded by climate change, particularly through extreme drought, heat, wildfire, and flooding. Extinction rates, already far exceeding the global average for mammals, are predicted to escalate across all taxa, and ecosystems are collapsing. These losses are symptomatic of shortcomings in resourcing, law, policy, and management. Informed by examples of advances in conservation practice from invasive species control, Indigenous land management, and citizen science, we describe interventions needed to enhance future resilience. Many characteristics of Australian biodiversity loss are globally relevant, with recovery requiring society to reframe its relationship with the environment.
澳大利亚的生物区系物种丰富，特有率很高。自欧洲殖民以来，这一自然遗产迅速减少。入侵物种、栖息地丧失、火灾模式改变和水流变化的影响，现在又因气候变化而加剧，特别是极端干旱、高温、野火和洪水。灭绝率已经远远超过全球哺乳动物的平均水平，预计所有分类群的灭绝率都会上升，生态系统正在崩溃。这些损失是资源、法律、政策和管理方面存在缺陷的表现。以入侵物种控制、原住民土地管理和公民科学等保护实践进展为例，我们描述了增强未来复原力所需的干预措施。澳大利亚生物多样性丧失的许多特征在全球都具有相关性，恢复需要社会重新构建其与环境的关系。
